Ultrafast time-resolved photoluminescence from novel metal–dendrimer nanocomposites

We report the first results of ultra-fast enhanced light emission from gold– and silver–dendrimer nanocomposites. There is a fast (70 fs) fluorescence decay component associated with the metal nanocomposites. Anisotropy measurements show that this fast component is depolarized. The enhanced emission is suggestively due to local field enhancement in the elongated metal–dendrimer nanoparticles. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71043/2/JCPSA6-114-5-1962-1.pd

Single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) for 1.5 µm photon counting applications

The paper reports on the design and characterization of InGaAs/InP single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) for photon counting applications at wavelengths near 1.5 mm. It is shown how lower internal electric field amplitudes can lead to reduced dark count rates, but at the expense of degraded afterpulsing behaviour and larger timing jitter. Dark count rate behaviour provides evidence of thermally assisted tunnelling with an average thermal activation energy of ~0.14 eV between 150K and 220 K. Afterpulsing behaviour exhibits a structure-dependent afterpulsing activation energy, which quantifies how carrier de-trapping varies with temperature. SPAD performance simultaneously exhibits a dark count rate of 10 kHz at a detection efficiency of 20% with timing jitter of 100 ps at 200 K, and with appropriate performance tradeoffs, we demonstrate a 200K dark count rate as low as 3 kHz, a detection efficiency as high as 45%, and a timing jitter as low as 30 ps

Synthesis and third order nonlinear optics of a new soluble conjugated porphyrin polymer

The synthesis of a new soluble conjugated porphyrin polymer 4 is reported. The MALDI TOF mass spectrum shows the presence of oligomers with up to 13 repeat units and GPC gives a Mn of 53 kDa. The electronic absorption spectra of this polymer exhibit an intense Q band at 800 nm in solution and 853 nm in the solid state, demonstrating a high degree of conjugation. Electroabsorption spectroscopy shows that thin films of 4 have lower resonant third order NLO susceptibility than our previous conjugated porphyrin polymer 2, whereas closed z-scan measurements indicate that the off-resonance real susceptibility, at 1064 nm, is exceptionally large for both polymers (χ(3)R =-2 × 10-16 m2 V-2). Open z-scan measurements were also made at 1064 nm, demonstrating that the two polymers exhibit similar nonlinear absorption at this wavelength (β= 1 cm GW-1 at 0.2 mM concentration)

A Two-Photon Excitation Fluorescence Cross-Correlation Assay for a Model Ligand-Receptor Binding System Using Quantum Dots

Two-photon excitation fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy (TPE-XCS) is a very suitable method for studying interactions of two distinctly labeled fluorescent molecules. As such, it lends itself nicely to the study of ligand-receptor interactions. By labeling the ligand with one color of fluorescent dye and the receptor with another, it is possible to directly monitor ligand binding rather than inferring binding by monitoring downstream effects. One challenge of the TPE-XCS approach is that of separating the signal due to the receptor from that of the ligand. Using standard organic fluorescent labels there is almost inevitably spectral cross talk between the detection channels, which must be accounted for in TPE-XCS data analysis. However, using quantum dots as labels for both ligand and receptor this limitation can be alleviated, because of the dot's narrower emission spectra. Using solely quantum dots as fluorescent labels is a novel approach to TPE-XCS, which may be generalizable to many pairs of interacting biomolecules after the proof of principle and the assessment of limitations presented here. Moreover, it is essential that relevant pharmacological parameters such as the equilibrium dissociation constant, K(d), can be easily extracted from the XCS data with minimal processing. Herein, we present a modified expression for fractional occupancy based on the auto- and cross-correlation decays obtained from a well-defined ligand-receptor system. Nanocrystalline semiconductor quantum dots functionalized with biotin (λ(em) = 605 nm) and streptavidin (λ(em) = 525 nm) were used for which an average K(d) value of 0.30 ± 0.04 × 10(−9) M was obtained (cf. native system ∼10(−15)). Additionally, the off-rate coefficient (k(off)) for dissociation of the two quantum dots was determined as 5 × 10(−5) s(−1). This off-rate is slightly larger than for native biotin-streptavidin (5 × 10(−6) s(−1)); the bulky nature of the quantum dots and restricted motion/orientation of functionalized dots in solution can account for differences in the streptavidin-biotin mediated dot-dot binding compared with those for native streptavidin-biotin

Optical-limiting properties of oleylamine-capped gold nanoparticles for both femtosecond and nanosecond laser pulses

10.1021/am900442uACS Applied Materials and Interfaces1102298-230